Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., announced his plans Monday to resign from Congress following calls from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for him to step down amid sexual assault and misconduct allegations.
“I am aware of efforts to bring an immediate expulsion vote against me and other members. Expelling anyone in Congress without due process, within days of an allegation being made, is wrong. But it’s also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Therefore, I plan to resign my seat in Congress,” Swalwell wrote on X.
He didn't specify when exactly he intends to step down, saying instead that he would work with his staff to ensure it can “serve the needs of the good people of the 14th congressional district.”
In his statement, Swalwell apologized to his family, staff members and constituents for “mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past.” However, he maintained that at least some of the allegations were false.
“I will fight the serious, false allegations made against me. However, I must take responsibility for the mistakes I did make,” he wrote.
Swalwell suspended his bid for governor of California on Sunday. Monday, the House Ethics Committee said it was launching a probe into the allegations. That investigation will now end, as the committee has jurisdiction only over sitting members.
Some members of Congress were leading a push to expel Swalwell and three other lawmakers, including Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, who faces misconduct allegations of his own. Gonzales admitted last month to having had an affair with a former staffer who later died by suicide, and he ended his re-election bid soon after.
A second former staffer told NBC News this month that Gonzales had sent her sexually explicit text messages when she worked for him. A Gonzales spokeswoman did not comment when asked at the time.
The House Ethics Committee launched an investigation into Gonzales. It is against House rules for lawmakers to engage in relationships with their staff members.
Swalwell has been in the House since 2013. The timing of a special election to replace him or whether there will be one before the November midterms are unclear right now, and that decision is up to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom under California law.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., had said over the weekend that she planned to bring a motion to the House to expel Swalwell. Support for that grew among members, including top Swalwell allies.
Moments before Swalwell announced his plans to step down, his close friend Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who chaired Swalwell’s 2020 presidential campaign, said on X that he believed Swalwell was “no longer fit” to be a member of Congress.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who represents the district that neighbors Swalwell’s, said Monday night that he had made the right choice with his resignation announcement.
“I think that was his decision,” Pelosi said when asked during an event at George Washington University if she advised Swalwell to step down.
“I think it’s a smart decision,” Pelosi said. “That’s the right thing to do, yes, not to subject members to have to take a vote on something like that, and not to subject your family.”
Swalwell was a leading candidate in the race for governor until just days ago. But his campaign began to implode Friday after several women, including a former staffer, made allegations against him in the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN.
The former staffer alleged that Swalwell twice sexually assaulted her when she was too intoxicated to consent. Two other women alleged that he sent them unsolicited photos or videos of his penis. And one woman said Swalwell kissed her without her consent in public.
Ally Sammarco, one of the women in CNN’s report, confirmed her account of her experience to NBC News, which has not independently corroborated the other women’s accounts.
Swalwell, in an earlier video statement, said the sexual assault allegations were “false.”
The Manhattan district attorney’s office said Saturday that it was opening an investigation into one of the sexual assault allegations against Swalwell, which is alleged to have taken place in New York.
NBC News on Sunday obtained a cease-and-desist letter that Swalwell’s attorney had sent to a woman whose allegations were reported on by CNN and the Chronicle.
On Monday, lawyers for another woman who said she has “serious sexual misconduct allegations” against Swalwell that have not yet been made public announced she would hold a news conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday “to describe the next legal steps.”
Swalwell’s resignation is not effective yet. He must submit a letter to the House speaker that the House clerk will read aloud on the floor when the chamber is in session. The House will come back into session at noon Tuesday.
Staff members in Swalwell’s office can continue working for the office. The House clerk steps in to help manage offices after the resignations, deaths or expulsions of members.
